Power

Advances in horizontal drilling, adapted from the oil and gas (O&G) sector, are opening up deep geothermal resources once considered inaccessible. As a result, geothermal is emerging as a viable source of zero-carbon baseload power capable of delivering round-the-clock energy to a grid increasingly reliant on intermittent renewables. In a decarbonizing economy, geothermal is no longer an afterthought. It’s becoming essential infrastructure.

Using modeling through analytics, battery energy storage system operators can determine exactly what size system they need for their site with advanced predictive software.

With national electricity demand surging—driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data center developments, widespread electrification, and challenging legislative and regulatory policy shifts—utilities are scrambling to keep pace. Add to that mounting supply chain strain and aging infrastructure, and it’s no wonder utilities are facing a costly balancing act.

Solar dominates new energy generation in the U.S., accounting for 69% of new capacity additions in Q1 of 2025. But although most of this added capacity comes from utility-scale projects, the engineering labor force hasn’t scaled to match this demand. Only a limited number of qualified engineers, particularly those with experience as Engineers of Record (EORs), can support the complexity and speed required for current utility-scale solar projects.

Utility-scale solar farms are essential players in the energy transition. But with growth comes more exposure, and large solar arrays are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hailstorms. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, utility executives, plant managers, engineers, and energy policymakers need proven, scalable methods for assessing and repairing solar farm damage quickly and effectively.

The increasing power demands of data centers are adding urgency to grid resiliency and renewable energy projects. Data center electricity use is expected to grow 300% by 2035 as hyperscale cloud computing companies race to adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). Renewable energy and microgrid solutions will play an essential role in the digitalized and electrified future.

The Cabaiguán photovoltaic park, with a capacity of 21.87 MW, located in the central province of Sancti Spíritus, began operations after just over two months of installation. This is part of Cuba’s national plan that calls for the construction of 55 solar parks by 2025, each with a capacity of 21.8 MW, with a total […]

An Italy-based independent power producer has brought its first U.S. project online. ContourGlobal, headquartered in Milan, on September 4 announced the state of commercial operation for Black Hollow Sun I, the 185-MW first phase of a solar power project in Severance, Colorado.

A leading provider of grid-connected energy storage solutions announced the start of commercial operation for a project in Imperial County, California. LS Energy Solutions (LS-ES) on September 4 said its Big Rock 200-MW/400-MWh site, which was developed in partnership with Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF), is the company’s largest energy storage installation to date and its first for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid.

EnergyHub, a leading provider of grid-edge flexibility solutions, on September 4 announced the acquisition of Bridge to Renewables (BTR), a strategic investment that will accelerate utility electric vehicle (EV) program growth.

A California-based renewable energy group said a Minnesota solar-plus-storage project is being supported by state regulators. Primergy on September 4 said its Northern Crescent Solar + Storage installation has unanimous approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for a site permit.

Generac Holdings has introduced an 820-watt microinverter that takes electricity from two solar panels and converts it from the DC (direct current) power they produce into AC (alternating current) power that a home or the electric grid can use.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is prepared to double its production capacity for gas turbines within the next two years as demand for the technology continues to increase. Eisaku Ito, the company’s CEO, on August 29 said turbine orders are growing rapidly as demand for equipment rises, in part due to the need for more power […]

Xcel Energy’s comprehensive modernization of the Cabin Creek pumped-storage facility—featuring an innovative 11-blade turbine runner—earned the station a POWER Top Plant award. The retrofit project not

A long-dormant coal mine waste site in Pennsylvania has new life, providing solar power to the local community thanks to a groundbreaking tracking system enabling installation across challenging terrain.

In a sun-drenched Nevada desert, the Gemini project became America’s largest dispatchable single-phase solar + storage system, powering up to 10% of Nevada’s peak demand. This POWER Top Plant award winner

Solar and wind power have become increasingly cost-competitive over the past decade, prompting claims that they are now the cheapest sources of new electricity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

A solar power project in the Gobi Desert has moved the needle on the size and scope of global photovoltaic installations, aided by innovation in equipment and construction. The numbers tell much of the story

Over nearly five decades, nuclear waste has been treated as an intractable problem, locked in dry casks, relegated to repositories that are slow to materialize, and generally viewed as a costly liability

Officials in Iceland recently celebrated the opening of Steingerour, a state-of-the-art carbon capture installation that is transforming Iceland’s ON Power plant into one of the world’s first near-zero emission geothermal power stations. The facility is expected to deliver about 10% of Iceland’s 2030 Climate Action Plan targets for the energy and industrial sectors.

Selecting the best fuel gas compressor technology is critical for plant performance and economics. This comprehensive comparison examines three compressor types to help power plant designers choose the optimal

Steam turbine technology is not stagnant. Advanced designs are incorporating innovations in blade design, advanced materials, precision manufacturing, and high-energy steam cycles, delivering significant

Thermal power plants, nuclear and fossil-fueled, rely on cooling water intake structures (CWIS) to withdraw water for rejecting waste heat. The CWIS serves as a critical interface between engineered systems and the natural environment, making it vulnerable to various external factors such as biological growth, water chemistry changes, hydraulic forces, drifting debris, and meteorologic events. […]

As complexity rises across the power industry, modern control systems are becoming the foundation for next-generation solutions. By embracing automation, simulation, and artificial intelligence (AI)-ready

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a vital water purification technology used in various applications such as boiler feedwater treatment, cooling water systems, and wastewater recycling. The feedwater for RO can

In today’s business climate, where uncertainty is the only constant, all energy companies and utilities are looking for opportunities to preserve profit and enhance efficiency. For organizations managing

The stakes have never been higher for power generation facilities when it comes to extreme cold weather. Severe winter events exposed critical vulnerabilities across the U.S. power grid, leading to widespread outages and cascading failures. These events underscored a harsh reality: cold weather preparation is no longer an option; it’s a necessity. To meet this […]

Efficient liquid cooling supported by reliable instrumentation is essential for data centers to handle increased capacity demands in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and other heavy compute applications. The landscape of data processing has undergone a seismic shift recently, with today’s artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications requiring computational power at a […]

Carbon seal rings are silently revolutionizing industries—from oil rigs to rocket engines. Carbon seal rings can have significant effects. Take a recent upgrade by ExxonMobil. By switching to advanced carbon seals in refineries, the company cut fugitive emissions by almost 30% and saved millions of dollars in downtime. Or SpaceX, which relies on ultra-durable carbon-graphite […]

The U.S. power grid has delivered electricity reliably for decades. However, today the grid faces challenges that are driving transformation, reshaping its operational scope and the technologies on which it relies.